Police in Ferguson, Missouri were filmed isolating Black residents in the neighborhood where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and fired rubber bullets at them — yet failed to behave aggressively toward a white resident, The Nation reported on Tuesday.

The footage was taken on Aug. 13, four days after Brown was shot and killed by local Officer Darren Wilson in the Canfield Green neighborhood of the community. The 53-second clip shows an unidentified resident standing in the street in front of about 20 officers in riot gear and one large police vehicle, all standing at the entrance to the neighborhood.

The person can be seen putting his hands up, as one unidentified resident sarcastically says, “Disperse the streets,” mocking a frequent police command during the protests that followed Brown’s death.

“F*ck that, we pay taxes,” another resident can be heard saying off-camera.

Seconds later, officers begin firing rubber bullets at the crowd. The footage does not show any residents throwing bottles or moving toward the officers, as authorities have argued happened in other demonstrations.

However, according to Khalil Fells, whose brother filmed the encounter, officers were more polite when they were approached by a white woman, in an encounter not caught on camera.

“Everybody clapped,” Fells was quoted as saying. “They wanted to see what will happen to her. All [the police] said was, ‘Ma’am, can you please turn around?'”

About the Author

Arturo R. García is the managing editor at Racialicious.com. He is based in San Diego, California and has written for both print and broadcast media, including contributions to GlobalComment.com, The Root and Comment Is Free. Follow him on Twitter at @ABoyNamedArt